A Drive Around the World Discovery takes in the view of Lago General Carrera in Argentina.

Journal and photos by Justin Mounts

Frequently when you travel, you are forced to make a series of decisions that could negatively affect your plans. At each point, you must weigh your priorities to determine what is most important to you. Additionally, you must consider the impact of your decision. If you decide to omit a visit to a location, does that really free up more time in or schedule, or does it cause you to miss seeing the most beautiful site in the world? Maybe it does both. Misinformation in these situations is a huge problem, and misinformation comes in many forms. It can be something as small as incorrect directions to a restaurant, or it could be information from a local describing a little place along your route that your cousin’s uncle’s nephew’s wife once heard about and said was amazing. As the navigator, misinformation is the bane of my existence.

This week has been no different. We are on day 99 of the LONGITUDE Expedition, and our route today takes us from Lago General Carrera in Chile to the amazing site of Perito Moreno, Argentina. Unlike most border days that call for a 6:00 am departure, our campsite from last night was so beautiful, the team took it easy this morning--our first decision of the day. We know that our route today will take us approximately 100 miles over rough and twisty gravel roads out of the mountains and into the high plains of Argentina.

The drive begins like any other day’s drive. The convoy slowly begins gaining momentum through the hills as we carve our way around the southern edge of the lake. As we continue to gain altitude, the bright-blue sky dotted with clouds has resulted in a mirror effect on the water that is beyond blue. The wind creates small crests in the water, and the reflected images of the surrounding snow-capped peaks dance for all to see. The best thing about this drive is that we are alone. In the 3 hours that it will take us to cross below this lake into Argentina, we will see about 6 cars, 2 horses, and one team of oxen, driven by a husband-and-wife team, pulling a cart. But for right now, this view is all ours. And it is spectacular. The road continues to narrow as we pass small settlements with houses built into the side of the mountains. Every place you see a large boulder that has fallen down from above, you see a small shack extending out, using Mother Nature’s gravitational reminders as permanent walls to conserve building materials.

We continue to the right past the bright-green sign that says Chile Chico, indicating that our border town is near. On the way, we pass a Land Rover Range Rover on the side of the road. It comes complete with middle-aged man, his wife, his son, and a cargo bay filled with new camping equipment. This is their first trip out, and their first flat tire with this car. This poor fellow unfortunately has never experienced the pure joy of changing a tire on an empty stretch of gravel road when it’s 90 degrees, and he has never had to operate a bottle jack in his life. So, we stop to lend a hand--our second decision of the day. Changing a tire is something everyone should know how to do, but through one reason or another, not everyone learns before the skill is actually needed. After a quick tutorial and some help, he is a pro.

Our border crossing is relatively quick, and after 90 minutes of filling out forms, we push on into Argentina. With very little ceremony, we have entered our 12th country of the expedition. The lake is now called Lago Buenos Aires in Argentina, and rumor has it that there is some very good fishing here. After some discussion on the radio, Nick and Nancy decide that they are going to pull over and try their luck while the rest of us continue on to set up base camp.

All of the information we have been given by people indicates that Perito Moreno is a “must-see” destination in Argentina. Our Lonely Planet guidebook says something different. According to the book, there is not one, but two Perito Morenos in Argentina. One is a small gateway town to the beautiful region of Chile we just left. The other is a park, complete with glaciers and wildlife, that is not readily identifiable on any map that we carry. After a considerable amount of studying three different maps, I find the second one. It is a park nestled against the Chilean border approximately 300 miles south of our actual destination town. The actual town of Perito Moreno is a bit of a dust bowl, inhabited by a couple of thousand people at best. It is no resort. It is no must-see destination. In fact, it’s not even a place that we’re sure we want to stay in. It is a pretty darn ugly place. Now, what do we do? We have to make a decision. Our options are stay here, backtrack to the lake where Nick and Nancy are, or continue further south to another yet-undetermined location. Given that it is almost 6:00 pm, there are no substantial towns on the map south of here, we have no place to stay, and only half the team is in convoy, we decide to find a place to camp and make the best of the situation. The reality is that tomorrow we have to cover a lot of ground, anyway. It will be an early start and a long drive.

Our decision to stay did not go unrewarded, however. We arrived in town on the night of the annual Festival Cueva de las Manos (Festival of the Cave of the Hands--a local archeological site), where we shared live music with the community. This is the type of experience that you cannot plan for. Virtually no information on the festival exists outside of this town, and our arrival here on the same date as the festival was based more in luck than on conscious decisions. It is certain we will not have time in our schedule to visit the fabled park of Perito Moreno that we have heard so much about, but sometimes you trade the cost of one decision for the reward of something much more special without even knowing it.

Logbook for February 7th, Day 99
Start: Lago General Carrera, Chile
Time: 11:30 a.m.
S: 46*44.751
W: 72* 31.163
Finish: Perito Moreno, Argentina
Time: 8:00 p.m.
S: 46*35.740
W: 70*55.547
Mileage: 97
Notes: Today at 6:09 p.m., we were officially stamped in and leaving the Argentine border to drive through our newest country. We had fun talking to locals at the border, and then Nick bought a rod and reel at the gas station in town. Here, Logo General Carrera became Lago Buenos Aires, Argentina's name for the same huge lake that is shared by both countries. On the way into our day's destination at Perito Moreno, Nick and I stayed behind to fish on the shores of Lago B.A. And would you believe it! I caught a trout! It was bigger than 2 feet long. Nick gave me a hard time for releasing it, but I just couldn't see the point in killing such a beautiful fish. Now ol' Walter will live to swim another day. Most of the gang went to a musical festival in town this evening called Festival Cueva de los Manos. The team is looking forward to eating steak as big as our faces! (N.O.)

Help support our cause: The LONGITUDE Expedition is the longest journey ever attempted with a focus on Parkinson's Disease. The Drive Around the World team aims to raise money for Parkinson’s Disease research by driving four certified pre-owned Land Rover Discoverys around the globe following lines of longitude. Readers are encouraged to pledge small amounts of money per expedition-kilometer via a pledge form that can be found on our Parkinson’s page by clicking here. 100% of donations received go directly to Parkinson's research and all who donate $10 or more will be entered into a raffle to win an expedition-equipped Land Rover Discovery.